February 22, 2006

"Last year we actually surpassed Oracle's web site in terms of traffic, as measured by Alexa. However, not to pick on Oracle, in the tech sector we also generate more traffic than Red Hat, Novell, SAP, Apache, JBoss, Eclipse, BEA, Borland, Gartner, eWeek and InfoWorld.

Beyond tech, we actually have more traffic than some popular "mainstream" brands including the Nike, United Airlines, AT&T, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Porsche, Shell, GE, Princeton University, Fender Guitars, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Hooters.

Ok, I admit, this was not a scientific analysis (especially the comparison with Hooters), and we have less traffic than some household names like Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Intel. Nonetheless, MySQL's web traffic is larger than many of the top best-selling brands as reported by InterBrand. For an open source database company, that's pretty good!"

The trackback facility for stories on VNU's website has set me thinking that this is another avenue yet to be fully explored (exploited?) by those of us working in the Web PR 2.0 world. In the past, once a story appeared, you had no further means of continuing the conversation around it - or at least not in a way that was open to public scrutiny. For example, what if someone felt they were misquoted? Rather than write an angry letter to the Editor asking for a correction, you can put your case in the open and let people make their own minds up.

And before anybody asks, James has written an entirely faithful record of his conversation with John at the Gartner BI Summit of a few weeks ago. For those interested, more of John's insights into the whole subject of business intelligence and business performance management can be found here:

February 20, 2006

Most of the major
PR agencies in the UK construct their business around writing
strategies, drawing up Q&As, drafting positioning statements,
scripting advertorials, collating briefing packs, printing press kits
and countless other bits of waffle that underpin our daily trade. This
rationalising process gets charged to the clients, who in most cases
seem happy to pay for it...

Get rid of all this stuff and you would demolish half the industry at a single sweep...

If you were to reduce the role of the PR consultant to its most
basic function what do you have? The man or woman on the phone whose
job is simply to offer a description of their client's product in a
topical, creative and engaging way.

Now let's take a look at Mr Henry's own company website: "Henry’s House has a full time staff of 20 executives with experience and skills in media relations, strategy and brand planning.We are big thinkers with extensive brand experience". (My emphasis). Based on his own analysis, does that mean he will be firing 10 people this afternoon - namely his own personnel involved in "countless other bits of waffle that underpin our daily trade."

Perhaps his clients will be pleased to know that they've been spending money on such "waffle."

This is an interesting story for a number of reasons. Mike founded The Register with John Lettice and Drew Cullen before falling out with them in 2001 (although many rumours emerged as to the real reason for the bust up, I don't think anyone other than the participants really know what went on there). He left and set up The Inquirer shortly afterwards - I know a few people at the time weren't sure whether Mike would be able to replicate the success of The Reg - but he ploughed his own furrow and getting a media giant like VNU to buy it must be viewed as somewhat of a coup.

What remains to be seen is to what extent The Inquirer will retain its unique editorial style now that it is under the VNU wing. The Inquirer (like the Reg) has never been one to pull its punches. Take for example Intel's Guide To The European Press - whoever was Intel's PR at the time must have wanted the ground to open up and swallow them.

Of course the terms of the deal are undisclosed. What next we ask ourselves? The Register being bought by IDG?

All the best to Mike on his return to Broadwick Street. At least now the distance from the office to the Star and Garter and Blue Posts can be measure in feet rather than miles.

July 18, 2005

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